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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28365618">the beginning is the end</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/n7punk/pseuds/n7punk'>n7punk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Outside of the War - She-ra canon stories [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/F, Masturbation, Pining, Porn with Feelings, Praise Kink, Sexual Fantasy, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:49:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,630</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28365618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/n7punk/pseuds/n7punk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being rescued, after the removal of the chip and promising Adora she would do better, Catra lays alone in her bunk and falls back into an old habit: thinking of Adora.<br/>Or, Catra touches herself while thinking about her no longer <i>former</i> best friend - and later, gets her fantasy fulfilled.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Outside of the War - She-ra canon stories [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793227</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>533</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Before</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic takes place the day after S5:EP6: Taking Control. The dinner scene at the end of that ep is extended in <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24280306">Don’t Go</a>.<br/>I covered the morning/breakfast of the day after that dinner in my fic <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424589">markless</a>. This kind of references that since it takes place in that evening, but still “stand alone” like my other fics this series.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There is no reason for Adora to be in her room tonight - in her bed.</p><p>Catra still wishes she were. The brig is warm, and the hum of the engine is close enough to the constant sounds of machinery in the Fright Zone to be comforting, but Catra still isn’t going to fall asleep. The cot Glimmer and Bow set up for her while she was still clinging to Adora after being rescued isn’t any less comfortable than the bed she had as Force Captain – in fact, it is <em>more</em> comfortable than sleeping at the foot of Adora’s bunk ever was.</p><p>And yet, despite the cot having a bit of give to it that the cadet bunks never did, it isn’t <em>comforting</em> like Adora’s bed was. It is not comforting like it was last night, when Adora carried her spent form to the bed and then <em>stayed</em> in it with her, holding her until they both fell asleep in each other’s arms. They haven’t done that since they were teenagers, too young and stupid to be deterred by the risk they were taking if they overslept and Shadow Weaver found out.</p><p>Catra turns over on the cot. Not any better. Her fur is still itching, and the worst part is she knows it has nothing to do with anxiety. She kicks her blanket down to bunch around her ankles, tucking her knees in to curl into a ball. She knows it has been a while, she knows Adora has <em>always</em> done this to her, even in the heat of battle, but she has barely become a part of Catra’s life again and yet here she is already, thinking of her and clenching her thighs together.</p><p>She is right back where she <em>started</em>, eighteen and yearning for the one person who looked at her with affection. Every moment between now and then, every misstep and broken promise, and three years later she is at Adora’s side again, desperate for her. Adora might not have been willing to stay in the Horde for her, but she was willing to run into somewhere <em>worse</em> on the off-chance Catra was alive, and that was enough to break down all the new barriers she put up.</p><p>Catra curses under her breath, sitting up and kneading at the mattress before flopping back down. Yeah, that didn’t help. She can still smell Adora on her and in the <em>sheets</em> from last night. The lingering scent should be enough to calm her and let her slip into sleep, but instead it is just working her up until-</p><p><em>Fuck it</em>. Catra curses to herself as she sits up and reaches for the zipper on the bodysuit Entrapta made her. Catra has worn bodysuits for nearly her entire life, but she still hates how hard they make it to deny your own choices. Adora could just stick a hand down her pants and get it over with, but here Catra is, stripping out of her bodysuit until she is left naked and exposed except for her underwear.</p><p>This is dangerous. There is no locking the door, and she holds no authority here. No one has attempted to enter her room aside from Adora and now she has the chip off, now she has promised to <em>try</em>, Adora has clearly been making an effort to not barge into her room, but it still remains that anyone could enter at any time, with no warning or consequences.</p><p>Catra is never going to get to sleep if she doesn’t do this, though. She can still feel Adora’s hands on her from when they cautiously stretched together in the evening, not up for actually sparring each other after everything, but testing boundaries. Or at least, Catra was. She is pretty sure Adora was just along for the ride, with all the obliviousness of a kit as she rolled her eyes and put her hand on Catra’s lower back, pressing her <em>up</em> into proper form.</p><p>Catra flushed <em>immediately</em>. Adora has known since they were teenagers what the spot above her tail does to her when touched, but she clearly was not thinking about that at all. She made a joke about Catra getting stiff, and Catra sniped back that she can scratch behind her ear with her <em>foot</em>. Adora never noticed her flustered state, not as she sat on the floor and tried to fold herself into a pretzel to prove a point.</p><p>She got her foot up to her shoulder, got stuck, and then fell over with a crash when Glimmer walked into the room and stared at them incredulously. It made Catra laugh her ass off all the way to dinner, but now the ship is in its night cycle and the rest of the crew has retreated to their shared bunk room, Catra cannot stop <em>remembering</em>.</p><p>It has only been twenty-four hours since she promised Adora she would do better, and yet here she is, sliding her underwear down to tangle around her thighs as she curls onto her side and slides her hand down her stomach to meet herself. She should not be doing this, but Adora’s name is practically on her lips already. She wants to moan it, whine it, hear a resulting sharp intake of breath from Adora as she begs with her name alone. Catra certainly is not going to beg with <em>words</em> for her. She wouldn’t give Adora that satisfaction, not even in her fantasies.</p><p>She noses into the side of the pillow Adora used last night, breathing in her scent and whimpering softly as she touches herself. It has been <em>weeks</em> – she hasn’t done this since she was back in the privacy of her Force Captain quarters – and the instant relief she feels causes her to sigh lightly. She has never done this surrounded by Adora’s scent before – she was not going to risk doing this in their <em>bunk</em>, that would have been monumentally stupid – and having Adora’s scent in the sheets makes it easier to picture her, makes it even more <em>intense.</em></p><p>It is easy to imagine Adora at her back, sliding her hand over Catra’s hip until it is <em>her</em> fingers working over Catra’s clit. Adora’s lips press against her neck, against the recently-exposed fur and scarring tissue that feels so vulnerable, but even the imaginary picture of Adora’s lips there is enough to cause her to whine a little, shifting her legs and picking up the pace of her hand – <em>Adora’s</em> hand, in her mind. Adora wouldn’t do that for her, wouldn’t want her to think of her like that, but-</p><p>But she touched the spot on Catra’s back that is almost as sensitive as between her legs, and yesterday she <em>pinned</em> Catra to the wall by her wrist. Catra shivers, repositioning on the mattress a bit to free the arm she was laying on so she can slip it behind her back. She places two fingers at the base of her tail, rubbing in firm, purposeful circles.</p><p>She feels nothing. She knew she wouldn’t. That spot only does <em>anything</em> for her when someone else touches it. Scorpia did it once on complete accident when trying to place her broad claw on Catra’s back to usher her forward. A jolt of pleasure shot through her core and Scorpia had only narrowly avoided the swipe of her claws by falling backward in surprise.</p><p>Before that it was Adora, when they were teenagers and she discovered it in the first place. It has been years since, and Catra has not been Adora’s <em>friend</em> in a long time. It is reasonable for Adora to have forgotten the spot, or a dozen other things about Catra. Adora’s memory was never as sharp as hers, but it still acts as evidence that Adora never considered it important, <em>her</em> important-</p><p>She cuts herself off. Adora risked her fucking life for her. The whole crew did. So Adora doesn’t want to memorize her sweet spots. Whatever, she already knew Adora didn’t want her like that. She still can’t quite bite down on the bitter disappointment. It isn’t helped that she can do nothing to elicit the same thrill within herself. She doesn’t feel <em>anything</em>, much less something comparing to what she had felt when Adora pushed lightly against her to guide her.</p><p>She growls and slips her hand between her legs instead, pressing two fingers into herself as she continues to work her clit with her other hand. If Adora was here, if Adora <em>wanted her like this</em>, her fingers would be broader, longer, filling her up more. Catra screws her eyes shut, breathes in the lingering traces of her scent in the room, and fucks herself imagining her former-best friend.</p><p>No longer <em>former</em>, actually. Even after she ran out of breakfast this morning, Adora still sought her out this afternoon. They still trained and goofed around like they used to. A nervous energy runs through their interactions as they work on relearning each other, but Adora wants to be her friend again. Catra shouldn’t be imagining Adora against her like this after receiving the barest scraps of affection from her former <em>everything</em>, but she has always been weak.</p><p>She pictured Adora even during the war. Revenge fantasies, mostly, where she had Adora captured or tied up, all hers to do whatever she wanted with. Adora always started out with her noble speeches before being reduced to putty beneath her hands. Sometimes, shamefully, the fantasy would go the <em>other</em> way, and Adora would come out on top.</p><p>It didn’t matter what the scenario was – the fact is that she has been hung up on Adora since the moment she yelled a stupid insult at Octavia for Catra. She whines, imagining Adora’s voice in her ear now, talking to her low and quiet like she had last night.</p><p>“<em>Do you always get this wet thinking about me</em>?” Catra bites on her lip to hold in her whimper, upping the pressure against her clit as warmth spreads through her body. <em>Yes</em>, she always does. She has always wanted this. Adora is sleeping in her own bunk right now, likely fitful and thrashing, but never having a thought even approaching what Fantasy Adora breathes to her.</p><p>“<em>So beautiful, laid out for me,”</em> she purrs, in the low, seductive tone DT used when imitating her. Hearing Adora’s voice morphed around those tones- she thought it would do things to her, but it sends an uneasy quiver through her body, her fingers pausing as her mind scrambles for something to wash down the acrid taste rising in her throat.</p><p>“<em>You were so good out there</em>,” Adora tells her. It is younger, from a seventeen-year-old who didn’t yet know the war she would be fighting in, but it is <em>real</em>, real praise and a real tone from deep in Catra’s memory. Catra groans, thrusting her fingers up roughly. This is the Adora she wants, the Adora she might just <em>get back</em>.</p><p>Her best friend. The Adora who cares about her, who doesn’t hate her, who sees promise and skill in her. The Adora who thinks she is <em>worth saving</em>. Catra’s eyes are watering, she might be crying a little bit as she works her fingers against her clit, an epiphany building in the heat between her legs. There isn’t a version of Adora who would want her to be doing <em>this</em>, but Adora was content to be oblivious before, and what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.</p><p>“<em>It’s just us</em>.” That could be from any one of the times they planned their future together, but Catra knows the shape of those words in Adora’s mouth, and she knows what she wanted them to mean. She won’t get it, not now and not ever, but she can still have <em>Adora</em> back at least. She can imagine herself safe in the only arms that have ever felt like home to her.</p><p>Her mind goes blank except for the vision of Adora against her, touching her, murmuring syllables that form no words but still follow the rise and fall of Adora’s tones, and it is enough. The burning point beneath her fingers expands, flooding heat through her entire body as the wave of endorphins triggers. Catra shudders and gasps, her mouth dry and her breathing heavy as she goes limp against the sheets, trembling just a little from the intensity.</p><p>Her fingers are still inside her. She can still feel her walls rolling down in the following contractions, but she can’t move yet. She pants as the rush retreats from her body, finally spent and tired. <em>Relaxed</em> now, her body content, and oddly, her mind calm too.</p><p>Adora isn’t hers. But she is still here, willing to let Catra <em>try</em> to right her wrongs, seemingly eager to be friends again. Catra doesn’t know if she can be content with just that, at least in the long run, but right now it feels like an epiphany. Every time she and Adora come in contact she has to fight her tail wanting to wave happily, her fur wanting to fluff up, a flush building on her cheeks.</p><p>It feels better than a single second of the last three years, isolated and alone in her heartbreak. She has a goal, a nebulous <em>better</em> to work towards, and if they even live long enough to see through with it, she thinks she might have a shot at <em>happiness</em>.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Adora discovering the base of Catra’s tail is covered in <a>sense-memory</a>.<br/>Tomorrow’s chapter will be a flash forward to after they get together.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. After</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Look, I wasn’t going to leave Catra <i>hanging</i>, alright?<br/>Set a bit after ‘a token of our love’ – I think it would take a few months of stability before the BFS could start flying off into the greater unknown, and their big space adventure would mostly happen after this test-run.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She has been on Darla plenty of times while Entrapta was repairing her, upgrading her, and prepping her for this expedition. It is just a short one, going two weeks out and returning within a month at most. Testing Darla’s upgrades, visiting a few planets marked on the star maps they have managed to acquire. A test run for their greater adventure. It got delayed – of course it did, they had a planet to lead out of decades of war – but they are on their way <em>now</em> at least.</p><p>Catra has been on Darla over the last few months, but only ever when she was on the ground and the light of day was shining outside. Maybe it is the lack of sun. Maybe it is that she and Adora are sharing the old brig where Catra stayed when they were last truly <em>on</em> this ship. Maybe Catra has just always been a sentimental idiot.</p><p>Adora tries to get up and Catra <em>clings</em> to her, growling lowly. Adora chuckles, dropping a hand into Catra’s hair. It is the dead of night back on Etheria. They had been asleep before Adora insisted on trying to leave and every part of Catra’s body lit up with <em>don’t go</em>.</p><p>“I’m going to the bathroom, Catra. I’ll be right back,” she promises. Catra huffs, but she releases her girlfriend, turning over in the bed that has been placed in the room. It still isn’t big enough for Melog to sleep in it with them, but they have a few large poofs scattered around the ship for lounging on, including at the foot of their bed.</p><p>Melog follows Adora when she leaves. It helps Catra to settle, knowing Melog is keeping an eye on Adora for her. She curls up into a ball on her side, feeling cold without Adora’s glowing presence. Not that she glows at night – usually – but She-ra’s presence can be felt like a warm energy just beneath Adora’s skin, and it makes for a great heat source at night.</p><p>Adora doesn’t take long, padding back into the room. Melog isn’t with her, though Catra can feel them passing by in the hall and continuing on.</p><p>“Did you send me with an <em>escort</em>?” Adora teases as she climbs back into the bed. Catra snorts and says nothing. No, she didn’t, but Melog still did it because it was something Catra wanted, even if she didn’t know it yet. She doesn’t know why Melog didn’t come back, but she doesn’t doubt that they are seeking out a different pillow to curl up on and go back to sleep. Cats are like that.</p><p>“You could get lost on your own damn spaceship,” Catra returns. Adora actually has a decent sense of direction, but she usually supplements it with her tracking skills, so people tend to think she has a better idea of where she is than she actually does. She is running off a vague map and context clues at most times. Adora snorts, shuffling up against her back and wrapping Catra in her arms.</p><p>“Get cold without me?” she teases warmly, dropping a kiss to Catra’s neck before letting her head fall onto the pillow. Catra just purrs softly at the return of Adora’s embrace and warmth. As much as nightmares tend to plague them both, Catra also just loves laying with her girlfriend at night, no expectations for a few more hours as they just soak each other in. Adora lets out an answering hum in response to her purr – a habit Catra has come to realize not <em>everyone</em> has and is in fact an imprint of herself she has created on Adora.</p><p>She shudders a little and presses back into Adora’s embrace. Adora takes it as a sign of her truly being cold, pulling the blanket up higher to tuck under her chin and slinging one leg over Catra’s so she is radiating heat down every inch of her body. Catra is suddenly struck with a memory from the first time she stayed in this room. The room is a <em>bit</em> different, decorated with real furniture and some hanging drapery that is stupid, and princessy, but helps make it different enough she isn’t worried about having flashbacks associated with the space.</p><p>Catra reaches down, taking one of Adora’s hands and repositioning it to be placed on her hip. Adora makes a soft, questioning sound. She was already drifting back to sleep, but she squeezes Catra’s hip softly as she nuzzles into the back of her neck.</p><p>“Love you,” Adora mumbles. Catra feels her tail lash, which finally seems to rouse Adora from drifting off again. She makes a questioning sound again, but louder this time. Catra huffs, reaching down for Adora’s hand again and guiding it lower, placing it on her upper thigh. “Oh. Yeah?” Adora questions, finally <em>getting it</em>. Catra blushes, but Adora cannot see that, so she just nods.</p><p>Adora hums softly behind her as she slides her hand to palm Catra over the top of her underwear. Catra moans instantly, rocking forward into the touch. She feels Adora grin against her neck, pressing a soft kiss against her scars there – <em>yes</em> – as she begins to work Catra’s clit through the thin barrier of fabric. She hooks her ankle around Catra’s top leg, pulling it back to spread her legs. Catra whines, causing an immediate shift in the air as Adora’s breath catches and a wave of desire rolls forward from her.</p><p>“Thought about this the first – ah – time we were on the ship. Before we found out about Crytis,” Catra admits, shifting her hips forward into Adora’s touch. Adora lets out a soft breath and then her hand <em>stops</em>. Catra whines in protest immediately, rocking her hips forward, but Adora just shifts her hand back to Catra’s thigh and chuckles playfully as she <em>squeezes</em>.</p><p>“What were you thinking about?” she asks, her voice low. Catra huffs, shifting her hips pointedly.</p><p>“What you <em>were</em> doing,” she says, pointedly. Adora sighs, fond and exasperated, but her hand returns to working again Catra. All of Catra’s annoyance melts away, a purr immediately rising in her throat. Adora hums once again.</p><p>“That’s it. Just relax for me. Were you laying like this?” Adora asks her, her voice low and comforting. Catra nods and goes a little boneless in the comfort of her girlfriend’s arms, stilling the twitch of her hips and trusting Adora will give her what she needs, she <em>wants</em>. “Were you still dressed, or were you naked?” Adora asks now. Catra shudders a little in her arms.</p><p>“Naked. I had to strip out of my bodysuit to touch myself. Your scent was everywhere and it- it had been so long since you looked at me like that. Touched me like that,” Catra admits. Adora draws in a soft breath.</p><p>“Good girl. I’ll take care of you,” she promises. A few months ago, Catra would have keened and shifted in the bed at that promise. Now, she just sighs with contentment into the sheets, believing, knowing, <em>expecting</em> the words. Adora loves her, she always did, even when Catra was desperately fucking herself on a cot pretending the fingers were Adora’s. She will take care of her.</p><p>Adora’s hands slide down, tucking into her waistband so she can pull her underwear down. She shifts down to discard it, the fabric getting lost somewhere in the blankets. Catra doesn’t care. She is comfortable enough to sleep naked now – she is already topless, after all. Adora returns, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder as she settles beside her again.</p><p>“I was touching you?” she asks, apparently determined to get Catra’s fantasy <em>right</em>. Catra nods, luxuriating in the shiver of pleasure that runs through her as Adora’s hand returns to work against her clit. Catra swallows, her mouth a bit dry.</p><p>“And fucking me. Talking me through it. I just- wanted you back,” Catra says, her voice low and rough. More things that have changed over the last few months – she never would have admitted that right after Prime was defeated, but now she can say it without fear. Adora lets out a soft breath but then both her hands are sliding down-</p><p>“Wait,” Catra breathes, catching one and <em>remembering</em>, “my tail, first? I tried but- it didn’t do anything. You touched me there earlier in the day,” she asks, her cheeks blazing, but Adora already <em>knows</em> Catra can’t hit that spot herself, and this isn’t the first time they have talked through fulfilling one of their fantasies from over the years.</p><p>“Whatever you want,” Adora promises her, pressing a soft kiss to the base of her ear before shifting her hands again, one on her clit and one at the base of her tail, both rubbing in twin motions. Catra mewls softly, two radiating points of pleasure spreading through her, and then Adora leans into her ear.</p><p>“There you are, beautiful. Let me just take care of you. You’re safe here,” she promises her. Catra keens, her hips twitching under the onslaught of pleasure from both directions. Adora is <em>not</em> going to get to the point of fucking her tonight, but she doesn’t <em>need</em> her to, not when the real thing is so much better than any dream.</p><p>“You’re so gorgeous when you let go for me. I’m here. I’ll always be here. I love seeing you blissed out like this. I love <em>you</em>,” Adora reminds her, her breath puffing hot against her ear. Catra mewls again, already <em>lost</em>, nowhere further to slip away to.</p><p>“Just focus on how good you feel. There doesn’t need to be anything but us. I love seeing my girl all worked up for me,” Adora tells her. Okay, Catra was wrong, because she definitely falls further down some kind of rabbit hole at those words, whining and shifting beneath the overwhelming pleasure spreading through her.</p><p>“That’s it. You’re doing so well. You want to come for me, beautiful? I want to <em>hear</em> those gorgeous sounds you make,” Adora tells her. <em>Fuck</em>, yes, she does, she wants nothing more than to shake and fall apart right there. “Tell me what you want, pretty girl. I’ll give it to you,” Adora breathes, her voice rough and breathless. The scent of desire is heavy in the room as Catra whimpers.</p><p>“I want- want to come for you,” she manages to pant. She doesn’t usually utterly <em>let go</em> like this, but she knows it is safe to, with Adora. No part of her body is telling her to hold back. She wants this, wants to have this and <em>give</em> it to Adora. Adora groans quietly at her words.</p><p>“Oh, Catra. You can come. I’m here for you. I’ll keep you safe,” Adora promises her, voice rough. Catra mewls, her hearing going a bit distant compared to the blood rush rising in her body as both of Adora’s hands work her to the edge and push her <em>over</em>.</p><p>Catra mewls, crying out softly as her hips jerk into Adora’s touch. Adora immediately abandons the hand on Catra’s tail, easing off the intensity as her orgasm rolls through her in waves, every muscle shuddering. She whines, Adora shushing her quietly, not trying to actually <em>silence</em> her but rather comfort her.</p><p>“Right here. You were so good for me. You did so well,” Adora promises, pressing a kiss against her neck again. Catra whimpers, shuddering in her arms as Adora slows her movements against Catra, the aftershocks working through her now. She shifts, wrapping both her arms around Catra and pulling her closer, turning her over so she can tuck Catra’s head beneath her chin.</p><p>Catra breathes deep, soaking in Adora’s scent and sighing softly. She is purring, her chest rumbling with contentment as Adora wraps her up.</p><p>“That’s my girl. I love you so much,” Adora whispers, pressing a kiss into the top of her hair. Catra’s purr rumbles louder in response.</p><p>“Love you too,” she mumbles, her voice giving away her sleepy contentment. Her purr was already doing that, but she sounds <em>besotted</em>. She is though, soft in every way for Adora. If she wasn’t, the times when they had these praise sessions would be terrifying. Even now, some days she is desperate for it and others she can’t quite take it, not really believing Adora’s words and not up to fighting her brain when it hisses <em>lies</em>.</p><p>Progress is slow, and non-linear. Adora is patient with her. She is <em>never</em> patient, but she is with Catra. Adora gets frustrated at the state of her own progress at least every other week, but she never feels that way about Catra’s.</p><p>“Tell me I’m pretty,” Catra murmurs, nudging into Adora’s throat. Adora hums softly.</p><p>“You’re the most beautiful person in the world to me. And to everyone else, if the way they <em>trip over you</em> at royal meetings is any indication. You’re gorgeous, Catra,” Adora assures, sincerity and conviction in every word. Catra purrs, licking the side of Adora’s neck in thanks. “You want to hear about how soft you are? How <em>strong</em>? Fuck, Catra, I was thinking about how I wanted you to <em>take me</em> when you were hauling supplies into the ship yesterday,” Adora asks her, half-teasing but totally honest.</p><p><em>Fuck</em> is that not helping her body calm down, but at the same time she is exhausted now, and it soothes her. She purrs, nuzzling and marking into Adora’s neck.</p><p>“Tell me that again in the morning. I’m <em>sure</em> I can arrange something,” Catra promises her. Adora lets out a soft breath, desire hitting the air, and nods eagerly. Catra’s purr is not easing up, but she is content to just let herself have this as she melts into Adora’s arms. Adora is not quite done, whispering a few more <em>I love you</em>s and sweet nothings to her as she drifts away, her girlfriend’s warm tones filling her ears.</p><p>She <em>will</em> take care of Adora in the morning, giving back as good as she gets, but for now she feels safe enough to just sleep and trust Adora knows that she will return the favour – and that it isn’t a <em>favour</em>, not for either of them.</p><p>This is definitely better than anything she pictured by herself, imagining a day when Adora could love her. <em>Having</em> Adora’s love is so much better than pretending ever was.</p>
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